How long you might live may depend on where you live.

New research suggests that if you spend your days on a sunny Hawaiian island, your life expectancy is more than 81 years. Halfway across the country in Mississippi, however, you can count yourself lucky if you make it to 75.

“In terms of health outcomes, the United States is not united,” said Dr. Howard Koh, who co-authored an editorial that accompanied the new study.

“We want everyone to reach their full potential for health, and sometimes that happens. But this study also shows so much preventable death and suffering,” added Koh, who was the assistant secretary for health at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services during the Obama administration.

Overall, the study uncovered some good news: premature death rates are down in the United States as a whole. In 1990, 745 per every 100,000 people died early. By 2016, that number was down to 578 per 100,000 people.

The 10 states with the lowest probability of premature death were: California, Connecticut, Hawaii, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Vermont and Washington.

But the news wasn’t good for all states. The 10 states with the highest probability of premature death included: Alabama, Arkansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, New Mexico, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee and West Virginia. Read More…

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